Data Analysis
Data Analysis is a complete and thorough review of all of the information being collected and warehoused by an organization. This is most commonly done by organizing and examining the data collected with the help of charts, graphs, and tables.
The data is processed in order to draw conclusions about the way an organization is operating and aid that organization in coming to a sound decision regarding their business. By dissecting and organizing data an organization is able to pin-point problem areas and move forward with the required adjustments accordingly. Many businesses have turned to the sophisticated Business Intelligence systems to handle their data analysis needs.
The organizations that have started using these systems have a tendency to be the leaders in their specific area of expertise. The Data Analysis tools that Business Intelligence systems offer are some of the most superior of their kind. It is no surprise that Business Intelligence systems are beginning to gain so much exposure.
Data Analysis in Business Intelligence
Data Analysis is a huge part of Business Intelligence. Business Intelligence programs are designed to collect the past as well as the present data of an organization, whether it is financial, productivity data, customer data, trend data ,or any other data company related data that needs to be modified in order to be clear and easy to follow.
The next step is to thoroughly analyze the data that has been collected. Some companies prefer to use charts and graphs others may use tables. No matter the means in which the data is analyzed it is done in a precise and detail oriented manner. Figuratively speaking, no stone is left unturned.
Modern Business Intelligence systems are designed to analyze and cross analyze large amounts of unstructured data. This can range from production metrics to customer attrition figures. These systems provide historical, current, and predictive views of business operations. The systems house data analysis tools that can be applied to virtually any area of an organization, and present the data in a clear, concise manner.
Business Intelligence Systems Data Analysis Tools
There are many different tools used to analyze and organize data collected by the Business Intelligence systems. Depending on company needs Business Intelligence vendors design the systems to benefit that company and meet they company’s needs. Some of the tools included in a Business Intelligence system are; Business Activity Monitoring, Competitive Analysis, Finance and budgeting, Trend Analysis, and Multidimensional Analysis, and that is just to name a few.
Business Activity Monitoring aids in monitoring business activities. Specifically it refers to the aggregation, analysis, and presentation of real time information about the activities within the organization. Normally it focuses on the activities surrounding the customers and partners of the company.
The goal of Business Activity Monitoring is to provide real time information regarding the status and results of various operations, processes, and transactions. A benefit from using Business Activity Monitoring is to enable an organization to make informed business decisions so that they can provide better services or even generate larger revenue.
Let’s take a closer look at Competitive Analysis. An organization needs to be fully aware of their competition so that they know what if anything needs to be adjusted in their own company in order to remain a true competitor. Competitive Analysis or Competitor Analysis allows a company to assess the strengths and weaknesses or their competitors, whether they are current or even potential competitors.
This tool focuses on four key aspects, competitor’s objectives, competitor’s assumptions, competitor’s strategy, and competitor’s resources and capabilities. This data can provide an organization with clear idea of exactly what they are up against and help them to formulate a concrete plan to aid them in moving ahead of their competitors.
Business Intelligence Systems Data Analysis Tools
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of data analysis is the Finance and Budgeting tools. These tools deal with the management and control of a company’s finances. They allow an organization to view what areas need more financial focus then others and what areas are receiving too much.
By budgeting its finances an organization will be all around better equipped for unexpected expenses and rise of cost within the business landscape. This tool can also help a struggling company better distribute its funds and improve the value and financial well being of that business.
Trend Analysis refers to collection information regarding patterns or trends in the information. While trend analysis is mostly used to predict future events, it could be used to estimate unclear events in the past as well. This tool gathers data spanning over the period of a few years and then searches for patterns within that data. This ultimately will help an organization to make an informed prediction about future events and decisions on how some less desirable patterns can be broken.
Finally we will look at Multidimensional Analysis. This tool is used to group data into two main categories, data dimensions and measurements. A data set consisting of information for a number of years would be considered multidimensional. An example of this would be if information about an organization’s productivity was gathered for three or more years, the data set would be considered multi-dimensional because it contains more then a single year of data. This tool is helpful when a company wants to analyze data from several years or terms in order to get a better idea of where they have been successful and what areas need more fine tuning.
Data Analysis General Opinion
More and more organizations are relying on Business Intelligence to perform their Data Analysis. The day of the stressed out little guy trying to keep all of his drawn up charts and graphs in order are nearly gone. Managers and executives have found that the software applications designed by Business Intelligence system vendors, can perform the task of data collection and analysis in less time and more thoroughly then previous strategies.
These programs are capable of sorting, processing, and analyzing data from several years in the organizations past to the present, as well as make more precise predictions about future outcomes relating to that data. It is no big surprise that most companies who can afford to invest in such a system are beginning to sing its praise. Yet some still remain skeptical, this is largely due to confusion and misinformation about how Business Intelligence systems work.
Business Intelligence Data Analysis benefits for Organizations
Large companies need to gather massive amounts of data for processing and analysis in order to make decisions regarding their organization’s present and future needs. To do this without the aid of a Business Intelligence system would be not only a near impossible task, but one that would be very time consuming. When you consider the importance of time, relevance, and thoroughness these organizations would benefit most from the Business Intelligence systems that provide Data Analysis tools.
Still even mid-size organizations can benefit from these tools. No business is too small to need to keep an up-to-date record of their organizations data. Organizations ranging from schools to multi-million dollar enterprises can use data analysis to their advantage. These systems allow such organizations to remain fully updated on most important areas of their companies. So when we look at the big picture we can safely assume that today’s Business Intelligence had greatly improved the data analysis process.
